"What are the 39 Steps?" And why is a network of foreign spies so desperate to stop stalwart hero Robert Donat from uncovering the mystery of this most cryptic of Hitchcock puzzles? And will lovely Madeleine Carroll really come to trust that Donat is an innocent man and not an escaped criminal running from the law? With its nonstop suspense, breathtaking setpieces and brain-twisting plot turns, THE 39 STEPS set the pattern for nearly all the great Hitchcock thrillers to come.

In François Truffaut’s delightfully entertaining tribute to Hitchcock, a businessman (Jean-Louis Trintingnant) is wrongly accused of murder, and while he goes on the lam his secretary (Fanny Ardant) tries to find the real killer. Gorgeous black-and-white photography by Nestor Almendros and a witty screenplay (by Truffaut and frequent collaborators Suzanne Schiffman and Jean Aurel, adapting hardboiled American writer Charles Williams’ The Long Saturday Night) make this one of the director’s most enjoyable efforts.